Author: Ethan Michaeli

On July 16, the Peace Fellows met with one of Chicago’s most influential elected officials, Alderman Walter Burnett of the 27th Ward. Fellows Jacquelyn Moore, Pamela Butts, Jeanette Coleman, Gloria Smith and Adi Lerner as well as Goldin Institute Executive Director Travis Rejman and Coordinator Burrell Poe met with Ald. Burnett in his City Hall… Continue reading Alderman Walter Burnett Advises Peace Fellows at City Hall

The Chicago Peace Fellows visited the Field Museum of Natural History on June 19, 2019, for a guided tour of the “Looking at Ourselves: Rethinking the Sculptures of Malvina Hoffman” and discussion on the theme of the Role of Race and Representation in Peace Building with museum staff. The exhibit brings to the public the… Continue reading Peace Fellows visit Field Museum to Explore Role of Race in Peacebuilding

The Chicago Peace Fellows recently met with a unique group of activists who are teaching non-violence techniques to gang members in the city’s toughest neighborhoods. “My job is to stop the violence,” said Kenya Hardy, street outreach worker with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. “I do whatever I have to do, like a cousin, like… Continue reading Where Non Violence is Personal

GATHER Alumnus Jamal Alkirnawi, CEO of a New Dawn in the Desert, a Bedouin-Jewish organization in Rahat, Israel, was recently named as one of 12 prominent people in the Negev Desert, a sparsely populated, but culturally diverse and vibrant region of southern Israel. Along with an actor, an oncologist, a choreographer and others, Jamal was… Continue reading GATHER Alumnus Jamal Alkirnawi Honored as Torch Lighter

Advisors to the Goldin Institute’s Chicago Peace Fellows initiative came together over dinner April 30 to hear updates about the Fellows and discuss the implications of their work in a context of the city’s ongoing crisis of violence. Over plates of pasta at a restaurant across the street from City Hall, Goldin Institute Executive Director… Continue reading Advisors Meet to Discuss the Chicago Peace Fellows Progress

When artist and educator Cecil McDonald Jr. began working with children in the Chicago Public Schools some years ago, he heard something that disturbed him. The children were enjoying themselves in the playground and appeared to be carefree, but when Cecil interviewed them, he heard them “repeating the grand narratives of violence and pain,” a… Continue reading Illuminating Perspectives: Art and Social Justice

DePaul University Professor Lisa Dush recently presented the Goldin Institute’s GATHER program as “A Learning Platform for the Margins, not the Masses,” at an April 1, 2019 “Research Meet and Greet” event for colleagues, members of the university community and special guests. GATHER is both a curriculum for grassroots organizers and an on-line learning system… Continue reading GATHER: For the Margins, not the Masses

Evaluation. No word provokes fear more promptly among non-profit organizations, who depend on positive assessments of their work to keep receiving grants, contracts and other crucial resources. But evaluation can help grassroots leaders do their work and communicate effectively with funders as well as potential supporters, according to Rebekah Levin, director of evaluation and learning… Continue reading Evaluation Workshop with Rebekah Levin

After her son Darren was shot to death in 2012, Lisa Daniels was frustrated that media coverage focused exclusively on his criminal record. Her son made bad decisions with consequences he didn’t anticipate, but he was a loving child, father and loyal friend, and Lisa felt strongly that he should be remembered for more than… Continue reading Learning Together with the Chicago Peace Fellows

The Goldin Institute recently brought together community leaders with key figures at a range of Chicago area civic institutions to gear up for the Chicago Peace Fellows, a joint initiative with the Conant Family Foundation and other philanthropies that will be the first domestic application of the GATHER curriculum and software, our tablet-based, capacity-building program… Continue reading Chicago Peace Fellows Take Shape